Understanding and Accepting Sleep Needs in Babies

Understanding and Accepting Sleep Needs in Babies. How knowing what your child's sleep needs are will help you be a better mom.

Whenever you read about how long your child should be sleeping, you will notice there is a range given. Night sleep should be 10-12 hours. Naps should be 1.5-2.5 hours long (unless it is a catnap, and then it may be only 30 minutes). Despite that range being given, moms tend to fixate on the larger number. 

I often get concerned questions from moms because their child is "only" sleeping ten hours at night and they can't figure out how to get to that 12 hour mark. I always remind them, ten is in the normal range. Ten may be enough for your individual baby. 

Of my four children, two have been low sleep needs and two have been high sleep needs. Understanding and accepting that there are different sleep needs is very freeing to you as a parent. Once you realize your child has low sleep needs and doesn't need as much sleep at night nor as long of naps in the day as a high sleep needs baby, you will be able to relax and just enjoy motherhood so much more.